The Best Of UB40, Volumes 1 & 2 - UB40

Present Arms - UB40

After the excellence of their debut album Signing Off UB40 faced the test of the tricky second album with the confidence to do it all again. Recorded in early 1981 the album featured only UB40 compositions and only utilising the production skills of Ray Falconer whose brother Earl played bass in the band. The overall quality of the songs improved over Signing Off but Present Arms saw UB40 move away from the simplicity of pure ska or bluebeat reggae to something which was altogether slicker. As a reggae purist I prefer my reggae warts and all in the style of the Jamaican bands which recorded their brilliance in one-take 3-minute masterpieces. They would find it difficult ...

Signing Off - UB40

for this music. London gave us the short-lived Black Slate and the longer lasting Misty In Roots and Aswad. Birmingham gave us notable acts such Steel Pulse and UB40. UB40 were distinct from most of the rest in that they were a multiracial outfit consisting of 8 band members led by the two Campbell brothers Ali and Robin. Their sound was also a distinctive blend of the heavy reggae drum and baseline with Ska influenced brass section and melodic ballads. They are probably the best example of what some in the music press labelled misleadingly as ‘White Reggae’. ‘Signing Off’ released in September 1980 is their debut album. It came about on the back of supporting ‘The ...

Signing Off - UB40

Most of the 2 Tone era bands were hyper energetic dance bands, deeply ingrained with a love of Ska and Bluebeat and stomping the night away. Dexys Midnight Runners at one end of the spectrum, fronted by the EGO of Kevin Rowland were avowedly a soul band, with passionate romance in their hearts (Searching for the young soul rebels, indeed) before they became gypsies with Come On Eileen. Over on the other wing, there was the dub and loping, smooth reggae sounds and political comment of Birmingham?s UB40. Even the name was a STATEMENT writ large of a band who cared, ...